Brian McDonald
Cape Town, South Africa – Rescuers trying to find dozens of construction workers missing since the collapse of a multi-story apartment complex in a South African coastal town have made contact with 11 people buried alive under the shattered wreckage, authorities said Tuesday. .
A man called out to his wife from beneath the rubble of the five-story building that was under construction when it collapsed on Monday, the head of the rescue operation said. This allowed emergency crews to locate the man, although he was still trapped and had not yet been extricated.
The deaths of six workers have been confirmed and there are fears that the death toll could rise dramatically. There was no news of another 37 people missing amid the huge concrete slabs and metal scaffolding that collapsed when the building collapsed in the town of George, about 400 kilometers east of Cape Town.
Shafiek Tassiem/REUTERS
Another 21 workers were rescued from the scene and taken to various hospitals, with at least 11 of them suffering serious injuries, George Municipality said.
Colin Deiner, head of Western Cape provincial disaster management services, said the search and rescue operation would likely take at least three days.
“We will give as much time as possible to see how many people we can rescue,” Deiner said at a press conference. “It’s very, very difficult if you’re working with concrete breakers and drillers close to people.”
Deiner said it would take most of Tuesday to rescue the 11 workers rescuers had been in contact with, some of whom had limbs trapped under the concrete and were unable to move. Four of the workers are in what was the basement of the building, Deiner said.
“Our big concern is being trapped for many hours when parts of a person’s body are compressed,” Deiner said. “So, you need medical help for them. We call our doctors as soon as possible.”
Deiner said it was possible that there were more survivors deep in the wreckage and that a process of removing layers of concrete would begin after the 11 workers located were removed.
More than 100 emergency services and other personnel worked through the night, using sniffer dogs to try to locate workers. Large cranes and other heavy lifting equipment were brought in to help with the rescue effort and high searchlights were erected to allow search and rescue personnel to work in the dark.
Esa Alexander/REUTERS
Deiner said a critical part of the rescue operation came when they ordered everyone to remain quiet and turn off the machines so they could hear the survivors. That’s when they located the 11 workers, he said.
“We were actually hearing people through the rubble,” he said.
Several local hospitals were making space in their trauma units in hopes that more construction workers would make it out alive. More than 50 emergency personnel were also brought in overnight from other cities to help, including a specialized team that handles rescue operations at collapsed structures.
Family and friends of the workers gathered at nearby municipal offices and were supported by social workers, George municipality said.
Authorities were beginning investigations into what caused the tragedy and a criminal case was opened by police, but there was no immediate information on why the building suddenly collapsed. CCTV footage from a nearby house showed the concrete structure and metal scaffolding collapsing at 2:09pm on Monday, causing a cloud of dust to rise over the neighborhood.
Esa Alexander/REUTERS
People came out of other buildings after the collapse, some of them screaming and shouting.
Alan Winde, the premier of the Western Cape province, said there would be investigations by both the provincial government and the police.
Authorities declined to provide any information about the construction company involved, but said that under municipal law, the private company’s engineers were responsible for the safety of the construction site until its completion, at which point it would be handed over. to the city for verification and release.
Winde said the priority is the rescue effort and investigations will be carried out thereafter.
“All necessary support has been offered to emergency personnel to expedite their response. At this time, authorities are focused on saving lives. This is our top priority at this stage,” said Winde.
The national government was being informed about the rescue operation, Winde said.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa released a statement offering his condolences to the families of the victims and also called for investigations into the cause of the collapse.
